Security presents a much more difficult problem in rural areas than in urban and suburban areas, in view of the absence of people to observe vandals and perpetrators of crime, and also in view of remoteness from police protection. Some recent problems in rural areas having included theft of forest products or personal property including timber, e.g., walnut logs, firewood, Christmas trees, berries, household effects, e.g., guns, electronic equipment and TV, and diesel oil, etc.; the discarding of trash on private rural roads, including household trash in bags, old automobiles, beer cans, bottles, etc. on lover's lanes; hunting without permission; vandalism including rutting roads in mud season thereby necessitating regarding, breaking into seasonal dwellings, damaging equipment such as logging equipment; and the starting of fires, such as by careless smokers, or even arson to cover theft.
Gates across private roads in rural areas are generally locked closed in a simple and inexpensive manner, commonly by employing a chain wrapped around the free-swinging end of the gate and gate post with the ends of the chain secured together by a padlock, or by using the well known hasp and staple arrangement secured by a padlock. Sometimes a chain is suspended between two posts or between two trees with padlocks at either end, or a double length of chain is used with the two ends being padlocked together.
Regardless, however, the padlocks are more often than not left unprotected from the weather, although leather or rubber hoods are occasionally used to cover the locks against the elements. These are not particularly durable and tear or wear out, especially after extensive periods of time in the open. More importantly, however, they are easily destroyed or removed by trespassers or vandals, leaving the locks exposed and subject to destruction.
Such unprotected padlocks are subject to damage and destruction by trespassers forcing them open to gain entrance through the gate. Methods used for forcing the locks include prying loose of a shackle from the locks or cutting the shackles. Such locks are commonly destroyed or broken loose merely with the use of hammer and chisel. Instead of forcing open the padlocks, trespassers sometime break the fastening devices secured by the padlocks, as by prying open or cutting the link in the chain wrapped around the gate and gate post or prying loose or cutting the staple where a hasp and staple fastening arrangement is used.
Unprotected padlocks or unattended gates across private roads in woods or forest areas are often damaged, particularly during the hunting season, by trespassers shooting at them to weaken the locks and mechanisms so that they may be more easily forced open, or by vandals shooting at the locks simply for the sake of target practice. Where chains are used, these may be easily destroyed using a bolt cutter.
One approach to solving the above problems is disclosed in the EASLEY U.S. Pat. No. 2,856,220 which involves an assembly for padlocking a gate in closed position including a cover protecting the padlock from weather and making it less susceptible to damage by prying, cutting or shooting. A latch bar fastener is provided in cooperation with the padlock cover for fastening the gate to the gate post, which is less susceptible to being broken by prying or cutting as are a link in a chain or a staple in a hasp and staple fastening device. The major defect of the EASLEY device is, however, that it requires a gate to support the padlock cover and, accordingly, the construction provided is considerably more expensive than suspending a chain or cable between two posts or two trees.
Padlock covers are known, such as those disclosed in the WILSON U.S. Pat. No. 416,433 of 1889 and the MUDGE U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,654. However, these are not adapted for usage in the environment contemplated.